• Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid sheds light on the foundations of integrating visions to design new models in social innovation
  • Sir Ronald Cohen speaks about empowerment and sustainability to help shape the growth of social entrepreneurs

Abu Dhabi: Themed ‘Collaborate for Good, the Exchange of the Authority of Social Contribution’s (Ma’an) hosted yesterday Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development and a group of distinguished speakers from the UAE and around the world. The discussions focused on ‘Shaping New Models of Social Innovation.’

This year’s edition of The Exchange focuses on inspiring, educating and empowering community members to join a collaborative community and facilitate the exchange of inspiring stories and ideas, encouraging new connections and collaborations, especially while witnessing an increased momentum in social innovation and the quest to lay the foundations for the future of the integrative system for emerging social companies in the UAE.

Focusing on shaping new models of social innovation, yesterday’s activities aimed to explore the possibilities for reframing existing models to support the early-stage development of social innovators in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE, and how they can propose new models that can be borne out of improved collaboration.

Attendees included His Excellency Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi, His Excellency Engineer Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Department of Energy and esteemed speakers covering CSR, social entrepreneurship, social investment and volunteering opportunities to address social priorities.

The event was opened with a speech from Sir Ronald Cohen, Chairman, Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, who discussed how the region is moving towards impact transparency with a mandate for organisations to deliver impact for the environment, revenues and the supply chain, and the need for sustainability bonds to help shape the growth of social entrepreneurs.

The keynote speech was also conducted by Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, who focused on the foundations of integrating visions to design new models in social innovation, identifying innovative ways, and achieving a positive social impact, which is supported by The Exchange platform. She noted that The Exchange brings together government and private sectors, civil society and the third sector, to shape a better future for the people of the UAE.

Her Excellency also highlighted that this innovative vision reflects the directives of the country’s leadership and its forward-looking vision for the social sector towards the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071 embodying the slogan, “A happy and cohesive society,” and in an effort to create a better future for UAE community, based on social innovation.

Following the speeches from the esteemed guests, a discussion was facilitated by Sadia Anwar, Creative Entrepreneur and Founder of Storically, and welcomed discussion leaders including Aisha Saeed Hareb, Founder of Social Bandage; Farah Naz, Head of Innovation, Sustainability and ESG Middle East and Africa, AECOM; Malachi Halliday, Director at Rotary Cosmopolitan, as well as Sana Bagresh, Founder of Tamakkan.

The speakers shared their backgrounds at their respective companies on the new ideas being implemented to address social issues, examining the current models, the impact and challenges faced and how we can fuel a better future for Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

The event was concluded with the Cohort Five Demo Day for Ma’an’s Social Incubator Programme, where nine start-ups pitched their ideas making a social impact.

The Exchange will be running until Monday, 29th of March at The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi and will welcome more speakers tomorrow to examine the Strategies for Scaling Social Innovation Projects.

Today, Wednesday, 23rd of March, The Exchange will host a new group of international distinguished speakers including Dr. Yasar Jarrar, Global Economy Fellow, MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth, UAE; Roberto Croci, Managing Director for Startups MEA, Microsoft for Startups MEA, UAE Josh Mandell, Chief Operating Officer, Halcyon, USA; Mariam Almeraikhi, Co-Founder, AstroCloud Studios.

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